Methods of treating and preparing food by means of various cooking devices have been known for many years. In carrying out the cooking process, one must select from a number of different parameters. Conventionally, a selection is made from one of the operating modes offered by a cooking device that is dependent on the food to be cooked. Operating modes of this type are, for instance, hot air, steaming, frying, regenerating, etc.
After the mode of operation has been selected, a selection from other parameters takes place which correspond to this mode of operation. In addition to the selected mode of operation, these selections must be input by the person operating the cooking device, such as the temperature, humidity, etc., and these values must be input independent of one another in successive steps.
The process of cooking food is usually carried out by way of one or more programed steps, e.g. heating-up, steaming, roasting and subsequent browning, wherein each individual step must be selected by the operator who then inputs the respective parameters.
The input is conventionally made on a display panel having a line-shaped structure that shows the corresponding choices in parameters as a plurality of lines and allowing each parameter to be controlled, e.g. by means of a rotary knob. When reaching the correct value, the parameter is selected by pressing a certain confirmation key for this program step.